| Popis: |
Over the last decades, CT angiography has become the first-line noninvasive imaging modality of the pulmonary circulation, particularly well exemplifi ed in the management of acute pulmonary embolism (Remy-Jardin et al. 2007). Multidetectorrow CT systems with fast scanning capabilities can acquire images of the thorax with reduced cardiac motion artifact, enabling improved evaluation of the heart and surrounding structures in the course of routine thoracic CT imaging (Bruzzi et al. 2006a, 2006b). Moreover, the introduction of fast rotation speed and dedicated cardiac reconstruction algorithms exploiting the multislice acquisition scheme of the data has opened the possibility of integrating cardiac functional information into a diagnostic CT scan of the chest, providing prognostic information in the management of patients with a wide variety of acute or chronic respiratory disorders. This chapter describes the additional information that can be obtained at the level of the heart in the course of chest CT examinations indicated for the management of pulmonary vascular diseases. |
